Growing veggies in suitcases: Luggage left behind by tourists in Japan being reused, given away

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

Suitcases abandoned by travellers have been reused by some Japanese hotels as makeshift planters for vegetables and herbs.

PHOTO: THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

TOKYO – Suitcases are being left behind at airports and hotels across Japan in greater numbers as more and more tourists visit the nation.

With limited storage space available and high costs associated with getting rid of the luggage, some facilities are using novel approaches to deal with the situation, such as reusing the suitcases or giving them away to the public.

Many of the suitcases are believed to be left behind when their owners buy new ones to fit their souvenirs.

A warehouse that belongs to the Chiba prefectural police’s Narita International Airport Police Station is located near a terminal inside Narita Airport in Chiba prefecture, which is bustling with overseas tourists. Inside, there is a room filled with about 60 unclaimed suitcases.

Most of the suitcases were found abandoned at the airport, some with broken wheels and some still locked. The police station keeps suitcases as lost property for three months and then disposes of them if no owner comes forward.

Last year, about 700 suitcases were brought to the warehouse. This year, about 400 suitcases had been brought in by the end of June. Only about 10 per cent of the cases are eventually claimed by their owners.

“Securing storage space is the biggest concern,” said the head of the accounting division at the police station. “Disposal also costs a lot.”

One factor is often cited as a cause